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Related Experiment Videos

Emergency department workplace interruptions: are emergency physicians "interrupt-driven" and "multitasking"?

C D Chisholm1, E K Collison, D R Nelson

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine and Emergency Medicine and Trauma Center, Methodist Hospital, Clarian Health Partners, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. cchisholm@clarian.com

Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
|November 10, 2000
PubMed
Summary

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Emergency physicians experience frequent interruptions and task disruptions in the emergency department (ED). Higher patient volume correlates with more interruptions and breaks-in-tasks, impacting physician workflow.

Area of Science:

  • Medical research
  • Human factors engineering
  • Healthcare management

Background:

  • Interruptions in high-stakes professions like aviation can lead to critical errors.
  • The impact of interruptions on emergency department (ED) workflow and physician performance is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the frequency and types of interruptions encountered by emergency physicians.
  • To analyze the relationship between interruptions, breaks-in-task, and patient volume in the ED.

Main Methods:

  • An observational, time-motion task-analysis study was conducted in three diverse ED settings.
  • Emergency physicians were observed for 180-minute periods, recording tasks, interruptions, and breaks-in-task.
  • Interruptions were defined as brief attention shifts, while breaks-in-task involved attention shifts >10 seconds leading to task changes.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Physicians performed an average of 67.6 tasks per 180-minute period.
  • A mean of 30.9 interruptions and 20.7 breaks-in-task occurred per observation period.
  • Both interruptions and breaks-in-task significantly correlated with the number of patients being managed concurrently.

Conclusions:

  • Emergency physicians operate in an "interrupt-driven" environment.
  • Frequent interruptions and subsequent breaks-in-task are characteristic of ED physician work.
  • Patient load is a key factor influencing interruption frequency and workflow disruption.